100 Years later
by SweetnessnaRose
Summary: “But water evaporates when in close contact with heat. So fire is better than water,” a voice said strongly, contradicting Katara's and Toph's arguments about wih element was better. They had heard. We were dicovered. Kataang. Chapter 8's out now.
1. Prolog

**This is my first story. Please be kind. The plot will get better I swear on all my friendships. Big thanks to my beta, iamtheblindbandit!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last Airbender, no mater how much I want it for Christmas… ******

"Twins."

The room was peaceful and quiet. The two children slept quietly in their parents' arms. The whole world seemed to hold its breath just to let them sleep. Their eyes only had just only closed minutes ago, slowly hiding their warm gray eyes. They were in a marble room, one that was usually bitingly cold in the winter, when the snow fell in gentle patterns, crusting the window with white crystals. Since the twins were born, the room had gotten considerably warmer. Being yet infants, they had not developed any protection from the cold, and thus were wrapped in thick, warm, woolen blankets.

Their mother had long, braided, black hair tied up in a bun. She was tall and slender, draped in a light blue bathrobe and silk pajamas. She was pale, with shy blue eyes. She was lying under the covers of her and her husband's bed with her daughter in her arms. Her husband was also tall and strong, with his dark hair pulled into a small bun that rested atop his head in the traditional

Airbender style. He was the source of the children's gray eyes, although his weren't as warm.

"A boy and a girl. We should name them soon. What should we name them?" he asked his wife quietly, so he didn't wake the sleeping twins. She thought for a moment and then replied, "We will name her Sora, after my grandmother.

You can choose his name."

He closed his eyes and lay back against the soft, warm pillows of their bed.

There were so many people in his life worth naming his first son after. He decided that he would come up with a name that would develop a meaning of its own. Something unusual, unlike Lee, as this, unfortunately, was his own name.

After a while, he slowly replied, "I'll sleep on it. I want it to be the perfect name for him."

"Okay swe-" she broke out into an uncontrollable fit of coughing, deep in her chest. When she stopped, she looked pale, and even more so just after birthing.

Her coughing had awoken the twins and scared them into tears. After a few minutes of soothing the infants, their crying subsided.

"Are you okay darling? That cough sounded terrible." He was concerned, his wife shouldn't be so sick after birthing twins. If she was truly sick, it might have had an effect on the health of his dear children, and she might be worse off afterwards.

"Oh, it was nothing, really. Just a little tickle," She started to cough again, causing his brow to furrow in concern and worry, though it was not as bad as before.

"We should have the nurse come and look at you again, just in case." He scooped his daughter from his wife's arms.

"No, really I'm fine! Don't worry, dear." Contradictory to her statements were the racking coughs that came afterwards.

He shook his head. "No, no. We shouldn't take our chances. These are our first children, so we should be gentle, and careful. I'm going to go find our doctor." Without awaiting her consent, he left the room in search for one who could help, a child in each arm. He did not leave without another long, loving look at his wife.

She was too sick to be saved. Not even the Northern Water Tribe's best, most experienced healers could help. She died two days after her first and only children were born. She was buried in the temple grounds just like every one else. She would never even know the name of her son.

"I'm so sorry, my sweet. Sora, Aang, and I will think of you every day." He promised her as he stood upon her grave, tears in his now dull gray eyes, which were once bright orbs of life in his face. Even the twins looked sullen, though they were much too young to understand that their mother would never awake again.


	2. Dicovery

Hi

**Hi! This chapter is much more interesting then the prolog. '**_Italics'_ **in signal quotes is a thought unless it is not with single quotes, and then it's a flash back. I have borrowed the outfits from the episode 'The Headband' just to say, Exactly the same day, too. Just after the leave the volcano. I also borrowed lines from the deformed short : The bending battle. PS. I didn't put it in last chapter but Sora means "Sky" in Japanese. Thanks to my beta iamtheblindbandit for fixing all the mistakes!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last Airbender, Sadly…**

----- (Aang's POV) -----

This was the third healing session that day. It was a little embarrassing; having my burn hurt me so much. Late afternoon made the place dark, all except the glow of the water that Katara was bending into my back. I just stared at the ground. 

I'm so grateful that Katara was blessed with such natural healing abilities. If she didn't, she'd have scars from burns all over her palms, the rest of the group would be very beat up, and I'd be dead. I was pulled away from my morbid reverie by a quiet voice behind me.

"Better?" Katara asked softly, her voice gentle. She had removed her warm hands and the healing water away from my back.

"Thanks a lot. That's much better," I replied with a sad smile. I was glad for these moments, when we were together. It made me feel like I was a part of the family, something I had never known. Monk Gyatso was the closest thing I ever had to a father, and yet, this was different. I suppose I must have had a father a long time ago, as well as a mother, but they left me to the monks at the Air Temple.

I would have to thank them though. If they hadn't given me my life at the Air Temple, I would never have met Appa, Monk Gyatso, Kuzon, Bumi, even Katara, Sokka, and Toph.

They were staying in a cave Toph and I had carefully bent into the side of a grassy hill. The hill was on the coast of a small island, one of the smallest in the Fire Nation. The island was one big mountain covered in forests as far as the eye could see. 

There were two small towns; and our hideout was near the smaller of the two. There were only about two hundred people on the island all together. 

The cave had needed light and fresh air, so I bent elephant-rat sized holes in the ceiling, which was something Toph would nave never thought of. The excess earth from the process of making the cave was crushed in to a small bolder that took one Earthbender or a team of Katara and Sokka to get it away from the cave's mouth so we could move in and out of our temporary home.

Toph was sitting in the corner petting a purring Momo. Sokka was sitting next to her sharpening his boomerang, club, and his wale bone dagger. Unfortunately, Appa had to fly back to Chief Hakoda's boat. If people saw us riding Appa, we would be captured instantly, and turned over to the Fire Nation. Yet, it was a mark of how much I cared for the ten-ton flying bison that I carried the bison whistle with me everywhere I went.

"Sooo…"Sokka's voice rang through the stillness, making everyone jump. It had been pretty quiet for the past hour. "What's the next step?" he asked.

"Aren't you 'Mr. Plan Man' Snoozles? Why are you asking us?" At Toph's comment, Katara giggled, I grinned, and Sokka glared at Toph.

He sighed. "I'm open to everybody's thoughts. I'll base my decision on what everybody else thinks."

"I'd like to get out of this cave and move," I said, my Airbender instincts begging for me to be free, out in the open. "But it's not very safe."

"Okay. That's a start, lets keep thinking," said Sokka encouragingly.

"I like what Aang said. Let's find a way to make it work," Katara replied. She was silent for a moment, obviously thinking. A slow grin reached her lips as an idea settled into her mind. "Sokka, why didn't we get caught on dad's taken ship?"

"Because we were dressed Fire Na-…We're going shopping?" Sokka asked with excited confusion.

"Yes Snoozles, but no. We're not, she is," said Toph, pointing at Katara. "So hand over your clothes." Both of their jaws dropped, as did mine.

"Huh?" We asked confusedly. Why was Toph asking Sokka for his clothes?

"Snoozles is the only one with a disguise. So if he went shopping for us, he would get miss-matched colors, and we'd stick out more than if we walked out in these clothes. Sugar Queen is the only person for the job, so hand them over," said Toph simply.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled sounding offended. "I can dress fine!" he whined, crossing his arms.

"She's right though. Hand over the disguise Sokka," said Katara and Sokka, with much grumbling, got changed and placed the fire nation outfit into Katara's out stretched arms. 

When Katara had fitted herself into the disguise, she took her best estimate of everyone's sizes. Grabbing the moneybag, she moved to stand next to the boulder at the opening of the cave, which Toph bended away. She walked towards the small town, trying hard to look like a regular Fire Nation girl.

Sokka and Toph just sat there doing what we were doing before they started to talk, but I was seeing my limits for Earthbending. I could do some Water and Airbending, but this hurt so badly! _'How am I going to face the Fire Lord now? I can barely bend!'_ I thought. I knew Toph could tell how much it hurt me, but I put on a tough mask so Sokka couldn't tell.

Toph let Katara in about an hour later. She had bought two new identical outfits for each of us and a map of the Fire Nation. (See The Headband and on for what they look like. A/N Aang's outfit is not a school uniform in my story). The best thing she bought was a bright red headband that covered my arrow on my forehead. Everything fit perfectly and we looked like genuine Fire Nation kids.

"Thanks, Katara", said Aang. Sokka grumbled at this.

Katara sighed. "I'm glad I was able to buy something. I felt like I had the most money in the whole place. There were people just sitting in the streets, and it brought tears to my eyes. We should help them."

As always, I was amazed at her kindness and compassion. Before I could say anything, however, Sokka cut me off.

"They will be better off when we take out the Fire Lord," he said. "But we can't do that if we don't get to the palace in time for the eclipse. We need to get moving soon, since we only have a couple weeks."

Katara nodded sadly, upset that she couldn't do anything for them. 

Sokka, oblivious, continued. "I suggest we travel through the woods, to the other side of the island. There's a ferry there, so we can ride to the next island. I heard that there are also a lot of firebenders there too. Maybe we can get Aang a Firebending teacher."

"The 'lot of firebenders' part isn't to comforting, just so you know, Snoozles." Toph said, pushing Sokka over. "Last time I checked, firebenders shoot fire, usually at us. I can't see them coming, and unless you guys are paying attention directly to me, I get burned."

"Normally, Toph, you would, but they think I'm _dead_. They won't be looking for a dead person, so they won't be expecting us like usual. Besides, we have our Fire Nation disguises. We'll blend in," I said with a lofty tone in my voice. They could probably tell that I was excited to get out of this depressing cave and do something.

"We should get some sleep, we're going to be traveling a lot and since we don't have Appa to ride…"Sokka went and slumped over to his sleeping bag.

After a moment, Katara also walked over to her sleeping bag. Toph scooped up Momo and walked to her corner. She didn't need a rock tent in the cave, so she just slept on the floor. I stood a little confused. I had always slept on Appa, and now that he was gone, I had nowhere to sleep. Katara looked up at me. She gave me a look that said 'What are you waiting for?' Then after a few seconds her eyes filled with understanding.

"You'll see him soon enough," she said softly. She started to dig through her bag. She pulled out an old, worn, woolen blanket. She held it out to me. I saw Sokka's eyes widen over Katara's shoulder. "You can use this tonight. We'll get you your own sleeping bag before we leave tomorrow."

"Bu-Ka-that's Mom's blanket! How did you get that? I didn't even know it was still in one piece!" Sokka frantically. Then he said, sounding hurt, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know, actually. I don't even think dad knows. I found it in the box of mom's stuff that was given to me." Katara bit her lip, but handed me the warm blanket with a smile in her eyes.

'_She gave me her __mom's__ blanket!_' I thought. '_And she didn't even tell Sokka she had it_! _She must really trust me._' This put a smile on my face. "Thank you Katara. I'll give it back to you in the morning." 

She smiled too. "You're welcome." As she said this, her eyes met mine, and we didn't look away. It was only me and her, alone, with no other cares in the world. Sokka's grumbling about me being Katara's boyfriend behind us made Katara rip her eyes away from mine to glare daggers at Sokka.

My cheeks turned faintly red. _Boyfriend,_ I thought.

----- (Sokka's POV) -----

I was a little mad at Katara the next day, but I was so busy helping to pack up the camp I didn't have time to show it. 'Why_ didn't she tell me about Mom's blanket?_' I wondered. '_But she let Aang borrow it…_'

"Hey Snoozles! Don't just sit there. Get packing!" Toph ordered. '_Is she ever rude to me?_' I wondered sarcastically as I started to pack. After an uneventful hour, we were all packed up and ready to go. We were all dressed up inconspicuously Fire Nation. Aang had a soft smile on his face as he returned Mom's blanket to Katara. He thanked her for letting him borrow it. She said, "Your welcome, Aang," then carefully folded it and put it in her bag.

"We better get moving if we need to stop at town. It is a little far away," said Katara.

We set off in search of town. Katara led the way. She dragged us over a couple hills and through a river before we got there. She was right; we did have the most money in town, and we didn't have a lot of money. The little money we had was left on the Fire Navy ship when dad took it. We asked some people if they knew a place in town where we could buy camping supplies. Most weren't sure, but three people described the same place, so we went to take a look.

The store was the right one. It was filled with sleeping bags, tents, and things of such nature. Aang went to look at sleeping bags wile Katara went to look at a tent for him. Toph and I just stood there.

"Hey Toph, do you want a sleeping bag? It was really cold last night and it's bound to get colder further up the mountain," I said.

"Sure, why not? It's good to have one just in case," she replied but stood still.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked her. She frowned and waved her hand in front of her face. 

I flushed. I always forget that she's blind! "Oh, sorry. Do you want me to pick one out for you?" She nodded. 

"Can you get me a green one? And one that wont scratch my feet," she added shyly.

"Sure," I said as I went over to join Aang, with Toph right behind me. "How's this?" I asked as I held one out to her for her to feel.

She ran her hands over the soft fabric, biting her lip in thought. "That's great. Thanks, Snoozles."

We trudged through the crowded copse of towering poplar, beech, and various other trees in our search for the other side of the island. The woods were dense. I used my club's sharp edge as a machete to cut a path as I went. Everyone followed closely behind me. I grunted every time my club made contact with something. After a while, I stopped mid swing.

"What's up, Sokka?" Katara asked. She had collided with my back, almost knocking me over.

Rubbing a spot between my shoulder blades where she had hit, I grumbled a bit.

"What was that Snoozles?" Toph asked mockingly. I was almost sure she had heard me the first time

"There's a road…" I replied, defeated. I hung my head in embarrassment. Trust me to be hacking at vines and such while there's a road running parallel to our path.

There was a road all right, but it was a small and messy one. As we started down it we all tripped over roots, vines, fallen branches and logs. From the looks of the place, no one had taken this rout in a while. After a half an hour, the floor cleared out a bit and our pace quickened.

"I wonder what Prince and Princess Hot Head are doing," said Toph lazily, kicking obstacles out of her path with Earthbending.

"I hope Iroh burnt them to a crisp," said Katara, her voice full of venom.

"I don't think he will have," replied Toph quietly. "Remember what I told you in Ba Sing Se, about him giving me tea? Most of the time he talked about his nephew. Of course, he hadn't told me he was the angry, hot headed, Prince of the Fire Notation who was obsessed with capturing the Avatar. You could really tell that Iroh loves him. I don't know about Azula, though."

Everything became really quiet, as Katara pondered this. The leaves rustled and a light, warm breeze picked up. All the time we'd been in the Fire Nation it was very hot. 

Soon, we were drenched in sweat, and huffing and puffing as we walked. It didn't help both that we were carrying our campsite on our backs, and in Toph and Katara's case, the heated argument they were having.

"Everyone knows water is the best element in the world!" insisted Katara.

"Great. You can freeze people, but in this heat it won't help much if you need to lock someone up. Earth will keep someone lock up for as long as needed," Toph retorted.

Aang and I were trying our hardest to keep out of this fight. It was easy for me, no bending and all, but in Aang's case, being the Avatar wasn't helping his cause.

"Twinkle Toes, tell Sugar Queen that earth beats the pants of that sissy element." Toph's head shot in Aang's direction.

"Umm…" I could tell he wished Toph didn't drag him in to this. "Well…I think their both great elements." Whew, he dodged that one.

"But water can heal people, even save them from death. Life is better than a _rock_," Katara said as Toph's face reddened with anger. She opened her mouth to reply when-

"But water evaporates when in close contact with heat. So fire is better than water," a voice said strongly.

All our heads shot towards the source of the voice. There, on an ostrich-horse was a teenaged girl, draped in a blood red cloak with the hood up. She had heard the whole thing. We were discovered.


	3. THe Girl In The Red Mask

(Katara's POV)

Heyy! Reposting this chappie all edited and goodness! Thanxs to my beta iamtheblindbandit !

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar:TLAB

**(Katara's POV)**

'_It's Azula_,' that was the only thing running through my mind. I got into my bending stance, my left hand at my water pouch. _This time, she won't even get a shot in_. That was a promise I _would _keep.

I watched as my brother pulled out his boomerang and gripped it in his right hand while Toph got into her bending stance. Aang stepped behind me, his eyes full of fear. He obviously thought it was Azula too. He realized what he was doing and he jumped in to his Waterbending stance. This made him wince in pain but he kept his stance. We all just stood and watched her.

"Wait, I'm not the girl you probably think I am." She dismounted her ostrich horse. Now we all (except Toph) got a good look at her. For starters, her voice was different than Azula's voice, and she was not as tall as the princess. Under her red cloak she had a pair of loose fitting black pants. Her shirt was a white vest stile shirt embroidered with red, purple, and gold flowers. Her shirt matched her cloak in the style of the embroidery except the thread was purple, gold, and white, the hood of which was still up, hiding her face in shadow.

"Take off your hood," Sokka demanded. He liked to seem as if he was in charge, even when he was frightened and surprised.

She sighed. "If you insist, but it won't do you much good," She reached up and pulled down her hood to reveal a red velvet mask. It was very elaborate. It sat loosely across her cheekbones, over the bridge of her nose, and over her ears. There were red, gold, and purple silk tassels next to the eyeholes. The rim of the mask and slits for the eyes were rimmed with gold sequins. At the center of her forehead there was a ruby with dark red and black feathers emitting from it. Behind this work of art was a cascade of black hair that flowed down to her hips, but something seamed a tad off about it.

I turned my head to see that everyone else reaction was. Toph was tapping her toes, obviously trying to get some vibrations on the stranger. Sokka stood his ground but loosened his grip on his boomerang, seeing that it was not Azula. Aang, on the other hand, had his bending stance more rooted and his muscles tight. He looked slightly confused and kept close attention to her every move. I whispered to Toph, "Monitor her, and see if she's lying." She nodded.

"Take off the mask," Sokka said; his second demand of the day.

"This mask hasn't left my face in over a year. What makes you think that I'd take it off for you Mr. … Do you prefer Ponytail guy or Boomerang guy?" The girl asked casually.

"Boomerang guy," replied Sokka. "Thank you very much for asking. But, no, seriously, take off the mask or we'll make you Ms. Redness-" _Wow, Sokka sucks at nicknames._ I thought. The stranger must have thought so too because-"Gee-OW!" Seconds later Sokka's boomerang was on the ground ten feet away with a throwing dagger similar to the ones Azula's friend throws next to it.

He was clutching his right hand in pain. After a moment, he pulled out his club so he wouldn't be left defenseless. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Aang jump into his Earthbending stance. I turned my head to look at the girl. She had several more of the throwing daggers in her right hand.

"Please don't ever call me that again," she said, sounding way too polite for what just happened. "FYI, its only polite to ask someone what they want to be called, like I just did. People call me many things, but I don't respond to stupid nicknames. Hitomi, Nao, Cho, Hotaru, Hisako, Ai, and Kiyoko," she said counting off her fingers, "and many more. Pick one, I respond to them all."

"What do you want?" Toph asked harshly. Her eyes were narrowed, and a boulder was hovering in the air threateningly in front of her outstretched hands.

"Wow, you people are very urgent and up tight," She said, sounding annoyed. She turned to Aang. "If you must know, I'm here to teach the Avatar firebending."

"How did you-" said Aang looking shocked. He did not let down his stance, however, and he stared at her.

"Know?" she finished for him. Then she said sarcastically, "Where to start? You walking down an active army road, you friends were arguing if _earth _or _water_ is better wile in the _Fire Nation_, and you switched bending stances. You need to work on fitting in better."

I turned my head again to see what everyone's reaction was. Sokka had a defeated look in his eye, but he kept his fighting stance up. Aang eased up a bit. Toph, unlike everyone else, dropped her stance completely.

"Toph?" I asked her, she knew what I meant.

"She's telling the truth, except the mask part." Her voice had a slight suspicious edge to it, but since she had decided to let it slip, we did too.

Sokka and I dropped our stances completely. Aang however, kept his up strong. His eyes locked with where hers should be. He didn't trust her, I could tell. After a few moments, he slowly relaxed his position, his eyes never leaving her mask.

She clapped and rubbed her hands together. "Great. Now that we're all not in attack mode, maybe we can sort things out. You know, ask a few questions, and get to know each other a little better. Let's start over. Hi, I'm Ai, Hitomi, Nao, Cho, Hotaru, Hisako, or Kiyoko. What are your names?" She walked towards us as we backed away. Just because we decided not to attack her, didn't mean we still trusted her.

"Toph Bei Fong."

"Katara of the Southern Water Tribe." I decided not to lie, seeing as Toph hadn't, and neither had the girl.

"Aang," he replied darkly. I was sure that he didn't trust her, and I made it a point to remember to ask him why later. His hands seemed to be relaxed, but I saw that the muscles were tense, and he would be ready to spring into action at any moment.

"HI-YA!" Sokka had bent down, grabbed his boomerang, chucked it at Cho, and hit her square in the back of her head. This rendered her unconscious. She toppled over sideways and landed on a log. We all turned from her to Sokka.

"Uh, what just happened?" Toph asked.

"No one takes my boomerang away from me and gets away with it." Sokka crossed his arms, reminding me of a toddler who had just stolen a sweet from the jar.

"What about those guys form the Rough Rhinos?" I asked smugly. "They got away."

Ignoring me, he rushed over to Cho to rip off her mask when Toph spoke up.

"No, Sokka don't. If she doesn't want to be seen she probably has a reason. She had absolutely no intention of hurting us, and you knocked her out."

"Fine, I won't touch the mask. Toph, bend her hands in to the ground. She'd burn rope if she actually _is_ a firebender. I doubt she is though; by the way she threw those daggers. The only person I've seen throw daggers like that is Mai and if Mai could bend, she would have by now. And what would be the point of daggers if you could bend?" Sokka said as he watched Toph bend Cho's hands together at the wrist into the ground.

It was starting to get dark. "We should probably make camp," I suggested. I looked over at Cho. There was a small trail of blood through her hair where the edge of the boomerang hit her head. I bent some water out of my pouch, my hands now glowing. I started to walk over to her.

"Good idea," muttered Aang behind me.

As soon as I got within three feet of her, I heard a groan. Her eyes snapped open and she rolled back on to her shoulders and tried to jump forward onto her feet. Unfortunately for her, she was still rooted to the ground and almost yanked her arms out of their sockets. She gasped in pain. She kept her head down and she tried to yank her hands out of the ground.

"Toph, move her to the side, we'll make camp there." As Sokka said this, Toph started kicking the air, her heel just touching the ground, which pulled Cho by her hands along the forest floor and out of the path. Unfortunately, the plants did not get moved out of the way, leaving her covered in leaves and dirt.

I grabbed the reins of her ostrich horse and took it with us. When we got far enough away from the road, Toph picked a nearby tree, separated her hands and pulled her back to it. Toph bent her wrists back together on the other side, leaving her stuck. I pitched tents and Sokka started a small fire. Toph bent a deep hole in the ground for water. Aang, on my request, kept an eye on Cho.

It soon got dark. Sokka dragged three small, fallen over logs to the fire for us to sit on. The fire was about two yards away from the tree with Cho. Sokka, and Aang, and I stared at her. Toph had her head turned in the general direction. Cho still had her head down, though she stopped trying to pull her hands out of the ground. After what seemed like an hour, she finally broke the silence.

"So why are my hands stuck in the ground?" She lifted her head, which was covered in dirt and a manner of leaves and twigs.

"You took my boomerang away from me," replied Sokka.

"So?" she looked up at him.

"So, it got its vengeance." He stated simply, as if trying to explain how the world came to being to a three year old.

"Vengeance?" Sokka nodded his head. Cho broke into a fit of unstoppable laughter, Toph and I joined in on. Even Aang had a slight smile on his face. After a minute or two, it faded away. "But that doesn't explain why my hands are _in_ the ground. Would anyone care to tell me?"

"Because we have questions we need answered from you and we need you here for them," said Aang strongly and darkly. _Why is he acting like this, he's usually so bright. He must really not trust her._

"Like what?" Cho asked.

"Like who are you and what do you want?" I asked.

"Do you not listen? I've already told you all that," she said sounding sarcastic and annoyed. I knew she knew what Aang meant. She looked at Aang. His eyes clearly said, 'stop messing around.' She looked away from him and sighed.

"It's a long story."

"Hey, we've got time," said Sokka simply.

She looked down at the ground again. After a minute she replied, "Okay, I'll tell you," she said sounding kind of sad. "Where to start?"


	4. The Flaming Flower

(Katara's POV)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar:TLAB**

Cho means, "Butterfly" in Japanese Nao: "Honest"

Ai: "Love" Hisako: "Long-live child"

Hotaru: "Firefly, lightening bug" Kiyoko: "Pure child"

Hitomi: Japanese for girls with beautiful eyes

**(Aang's-x-x-x-POV)**

"How about the beginning?" Sokka suggested sarcastically.

"You don't need to know the beginning, too much, too long. An overview shall service." She took a deep breath. While she did so I whispered in Toph's ear, "Monitor her again." She nodded curtly.

"My mother died when I was two days old, fever, I think," Nao started quietly. "My farther was a very important person, though I'm not quite sure what he did. He never talked much about my mom so I don't know about her. He died because of the war when I was twelve. A family of firebenders adopted me shortly after. Only my new mom and brother were welcoming, my new father and sister, not so much." She said sadly.

"My adopted brother taught me firebending. One year later, my adopted mom died because of the war as well. Naturally, all this had made me hate the war, so I'm Aang's perfect firebending teacher. And you want my name? I've been all over the place and called so many things. I go by Hitomi, Nao, Cho, Hotaru, Hisako, Ai, and Kiyoko. Happy?"

"How old are you?" Sokka asked.

"Almost sixteen."

"Toph?" I asked.

"She's clean. No lies whatsoever," said Toph sounding disappointed. She flopped backwards off the log on to the ground.

"Show me the most advanced firebending you know," I demanded.

Nao looked up in shock.

"Isn't that a little sudden? I mean… I haven't even held a flame in front of you and-" She stopped at the sight of my glare. "You're not going to be able to do it. I'll show you the two most advanced things I know." She took a deep breath again. _She must need a lot of oxygen,_ I thought sarcastically.

"Step back," she said sharply. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and stood still. No kicking, no punching, no anything. Just stood there. Suddenly everything became hot and dry.

"Awah!" shrieked Katara as everything in our surroundings caught fire.

"What?! What's happening?!" Toph yelled sounding frightened because she couldn't see what was happening. Sokka and I stood next to each other looking around in total awe. _She didn't even move. _My gaze drifted over the red-hot flames, and I saw Katara running over to the well of water Toph had bent earlier. We were brought back from our reprieve when Katara slapped us across the face.

"OW! Katara, what was that for?" Sokka yelled.

"_THE FOREST IS ON FIRE AND I CAN'T FIND ANY WATER TO PUT IT OUT WITH!!_" She screamed, arms waving madly in the air. Now she was totally spazzing out.

"WHAT?! The forest is on fire?!" exclaimed Toph. "You people never tell me anything! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER I'M BLIND?!"

"Cool down, 'Tara, Toph. I got it," Nao was perfectly calm. She had stood there with her eyes closed the whole time. She took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. As she did, the fire extinguished. After about a minute, all the flames were gone.

Sokka and I were still in a state of awe. Nothing was burned at all. Toph's head was turning franticly, still thinking the fire was here and trying to find its source. Katara was flushed; with fear or anger I couldn't tell. She marched up to Nao, her jaw dropped and stood with her fists clenched.

"You-I–Uh!" and with that Katara slapped Nao across the face. "Don't _ever _do that _again_. And _'Tara_'? You're worse at nicknames than my brother," she yelled pointing at Sokka. The light from our small, harmless campfire bathed everyone in a golden light and its red tint made Katara look even angrier. She stood there panting as she waited for Nao's reaction.

Nao had just stood there as calm as she had when she set the place on fire. She opened her mouth to reply when Katara cut her off. "Next time you do something like that I _will_ find _1,000_ different ways to _kill_ you with one of the tears you _will_ cry! And every one will be more painful than the last! Well? What do you have to say to that?"

Toph, Sokka and I had shrunken to the opposite corner of the campsite. Katara had never exploded like that. _What made her flip out like that?_ I wondered. Toph leaned over and whispered in my ear, "So, is the fire out?" I wanted to laugh _so _badly but I was afraid Katara would think I was laughing at her. I couldn't risk that. I whispered, "Yeah," in her ear.

"What, you don't talk anymore?" Katara demanded.

Neo cracked an evil smile. "Toph, bend a thick, tall stone wall, so I can demonstrate my second move." This took Katara by such surprise that she almost fell backwards. _Oh, my spirits… She's still going to bend!_ I thought frantically.

"Okay…" said Toph nervously. She started to fill Nao's request.

"Toph, No" but Katara was too late; Nao had already started her moves.

She started to move her arms in rough circles. _Oh, no,_ I thought. _Lightning._ I noticed that something in her arm movements was different. It was more crammed, like she was being restrained. Her arms were closer to her body and her muscles were tight. Suddenly, her moves became much more fluent. Then, without stopping her arm movements, she spun on her heel and pointed her ring and middle fingers.

A stream of black lightning emitted from her extended fingers. "Close your eyes," whispered Nao. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Toph flinch and duck. When I saw this, I decided it would be a good idea to follow. Sokka and Katara had their eyes closed and did not see this, so I grabbed their shoulders and pulled them to the ground with Toph and I. The second I hit the ground I closed my eyes. All this happened in a split second and it was just in time too, because chunks of rock and rubble went flying everywhere.

After a minute, the dust cloud from what ever just happened cleared. What previously was a wall of solid rock was now millions of lumps of rubble scattered all over the ground. And again, she was standing with her fingers extended and her eyes closed. She had a triumphant smirk on her face. After a few more seconds, she lowered her arm and opened her eyes.

"How was that for advanced bending?" she asked sarcastically.

Katara was red with anger. We all got up and brushed some dirt off our new clothes. Sokka, Toph, and I stood stunned. Even though Toph did not see what had happened, she could feel every single chunk of rock that the wall had become. Katara had cooled down and stood next to Sokka and me. Toph had a curious look on her face.

"I bet not even Princess Azula or Fire Lord Ozai knows how to do that," said Nao matter-of-factly.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Sokka yelled.

"What? What was amazing?" Toph yelled confusedly.

"How did you do that?" Katara exclaimed.

"How did she do what?" Toph was now getting mad.

"Black lightning…" I told Toph quietly.

"And what color is it usually?" she said, annoyed.

"It's been light blue every time I've seen it," I replied, amazed. "That would kill someone of contact, wouldn't it?"

Nao's face, or what I could see of it, went pale. "Yes, it does." She said quietly, then even more quietly, "and it has…"

Everyone's eyes widened at this, even Momo's. Then, if possible, Toph's got even wider. She looked even more shocked at the silence after. She jumped into her bending stance.

"Her heart beat didn't change, not even in the slightest," she said sharply. I jumped into my airbending stance while Katara jumped into her Waterbending stance. Sokka cautiously pulled out his boomerang and gripped it tightly.

"Who and why," Katara ordered Nao to tell us.

Nao sighed. "This is also the story of the one time my mask left my face this past year. You see, I'm kind of, sort of, a little bit of a wanted person here in the Fire Nation, but that's not why I wear the mask. I'm wanted for small crimes, things like taking bread from markets and stuff. Well, one night I was trying to get a room in an inn called 'The Flaming Flower'. It was also the local pub. The lady who managed it said there weren't any available rooms." She looked up at the sky.

"Just after I left the building a man from the pub offered for me to share his room. You could tell he was really drunk so I said no. I looked at him a bit closer and noticed that he was in a Fire Nation police uniform. I don't think he noticed it was me, but I still wanted to clear my tracks as soon as possible. I started to walk away but he grabbed my wrist and wrapped his arms around me, like a hug but more like he was trying to restrain me. I struggled to get out of his arms and my mask got ripped off my face. That got me real angry. I tried to Firebend but all that came out was…"

"Black lightning," Sokka finished for her.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Killed him instantly. I was just trying to get away and it just happened. Scared the crap out of a little kid with wild brown hair and red streaks on their cheeks. Couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl, though."

Katara, Sokka and me started at this. We all looked at Nao in disbelief.

"In the Fire Nation?" Katara asked with an edge of urgency. She sat up, on her knees, leaning forward, as if this was information she needed desperately. I frowned slightly, remembering the crush she had had on Jet.

"Yeah, why?"

"Where and how long ago?" I asked, thinking the same thing as Katara. What if they were still alive? I would never want Jet dead, maybe away from Katara, but never dead. I wasn't _that_ selfish.

"About two months ago in a town called New Azulon, but why?" We all slumped back at this. Katara stared blankly in to the fire. You could almost see the thoughts swarming behind her eyes.

She began mouthing words at top speed, like she was having an argument with her self. "We know her," she said suddenly. We turned to look at her. "Her name is Smellerbee. She belongs to a group of kid rebels called the 'Freedom Fighters'. We only know for sure two out of six of them are alive," she sniffled quietly before continuing. " We were in Ba Sing Se, looking for Appa when we ran across them. The Dai Li had captured him, and there was a fight, to free Appa...as well as ourselves. The leader of the Freedom Fighters…he got hit and…They stayed with him so we… Did you see any other kids with her? A quiet guy in a straw hat with a bow and arrows? Or one with a straw in his mouth and tiger hook swords?"

"No, just her." Nao replied uncertainly. I could tell she knew that we wished it different. Some small spark of hope for their lives would have been helpful.

Katara had silent tears rolling down her cheeks now. I extended my arm and rubbed her back. Despite the heavy feeling in the camp, I felt my cheeks heat up._ This is not the time, Aang._ Sokka looked disappointed. Toph just finally started to understand what was going on. She whispered, "Katara's old boyfriend?" in my ear so quietly I barely heard it. I nodded.

"I'm sorry for bring it up," said Nao quickly.

"It-its okay," said Katara sadly. I was still trying to make her feel better. I gave her a short, one-armed hug as I was still trying to fight a blush. I lost, but lucky for me, the glow from the fire hid it wonderfully.

"We should get some sleep."

"Yeah," started Sokka. "Hey Toph, can I ask you a favor?" she nodded. Sokka when over and whispered in her ear. She smirked and stomped five times. She bent a solid rock cage around Nao. At the top of the closest wall there were one foot long slits like prison cell bars.

"Good night Hotaru!" Exclaimed Toph.


	5. Little Earthen Cage

(Katara's POV)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The last airbender

**(Sokka's POV)**

We sat by the fire for a wile after we closed Ai in her cage for the night. Aang tied her ostrich horse to a tree nearby Ai. He fell asleep shortly after we put him there. Aang sat down next to Katara and Toph and I sat next to each other on a log. We fell quiet as well.

"So what do you think of Ai?" I asked everyone.

"Who?" Confused faces were all around.

"Her," I sad pointing to Ai's earthen cage.

"Well, she's certainly honest…" Toph started the conversation.

"Yeah, and she didn't refuse to telling us what we wanted to know. Although she went on bending when I told her not to," said Katara angrily. For some reason, Toph's, Katara's, and my head turned towards Aang. He was staring into the fire. I wasn't sure he noticed us looking. But I guess he did, because he spoke.

"I don't trust her," he said quietly and darkly. "I don't know what it is, but there's something off, like she's not telling us something or she's not telling the truth." He still had his head down. Toph opened her mouth to protest when he charged on. "I know what you felt, Toph, but something's wrong. She said that she didn't where the mask because she was wanted. Then why does she where it? I don't think its something like Zuko. I mean, how many scar-faced teens can there be in one nation? What are the odds?" He finished angrily.

"I know what you mean," Toph said dramatically. "It angers me how she's telling the truth. I mean we're at war and everyone has a secret. She's deliberately not telling us something." All was quiet after Toph's little speech. A huge smirk suddenly plastered itself all over my face.

"So Toph, what's you secret?" I said slyly. She scowled at me and went pink. Extending her arm, she punched me off the log. "None of your business," She mumbled darkly. I recovered from Toph's punch and got back on the log with the smirk still on my face.

"What about you Aang? I'd ask you, Katara, but I don't want to know what else you've got hiding from me," I finished kind of darkly. I was still mad at her for not telling me about mom's blanket. I glared at her and she glared right on back at me. As if on cue, Katara and I burst out yelling at each other.

"You should have told me about the blanket!"

"It was none of you business!"

"You seem to forget she was my mom too!"

"Umm-Uh-Stop-Hey-Guys! You know, I'll tell you one of my secrets!" Aang yelled to get us to shut up, and it did. We all turned towards Aang. He looked mad at himself for saying this, but he had and now we're all curious.

"You will?" we all said in unison.

"I guess I have to now," he sighed in defeat. "The last thing that happened between me and Monk Gyatso was a game of Pai Sho, which I lost. Funny, huh?" he finished sadly and weakly. We were all silent. Aang usually _never _talks about his life at the temple, not to mention Monk Gyatso. He was now looking in to the fire again. After a minute of so, he looked up with a forced smile.

"You know what's weird?" he asked.

"Sokka," Toph responded right away. I shot her an angry glare. Oh yah, Toph can't see. I didn't stop though, I could make as many faces as I wanted at her and she would never know.

"No, I mean _besides _Sokka. ("Hey!" I yelled.) Isn't it odd how fast a conversation can change? We were talking about Nao and then we got on me at the temple. Weird huh?" We nodded in agreement.

"So, it's getting late. We really need to get some sleep if were going to be hiking tomorrow. I'm heading to bed. Good night Aang, Sokka, Toph, Momo!" Katara said, getting up off the log and stretching.

"Me too. 'Night Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo." Toph jumped up from next to me, unsettling the log, and causing me to keel over madly, forcing my arms to go careening in wheels to regain my balance.

"Yah. Aang, Katara, Toph, Momo." I said when I had finally managed to stand. I ignored Toph's snort of laughter.

"Good night, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Momo," Came Ai's voice from the cage Toph bent. _Oh, spirits! She heard everything!_ We all rushed to our beds, not wanting to have her hear anything else. I walked over to my tent, opened the flap, Got inside, and crawled into my sleeping bag. As I did this, I could hear Momo talking in his meowy, catty yowl, as if he was saying goodnight too.

**x-x-x**

**(Nao's POV)**

**(While the previous decision was taking place)**

I banged my fist once on the wall of my earthen cage out of anger and it made a dull, quiet _thump_, but it wasn't noticeable. The roof of this box was two feet taller than me. There were eight vertical fist-thick slits at the top of one of the walls that let in the firelight and the moonlight. It also let in a cool breeze.

I heard someone walk Daiki, my ostrich horse, over towards me and tie him to something. I took out one of my daggers and started flipping it for something to do. After a while they started talking, about _me_.

"So what do you think of Ai?" I recognized the voice as the Boomerang guy.

"Who?" came many confused voices. Hah! My many names are confusing them. I wasn't _trying_ to eavesdrop; I just couldn't help but listen. It was justified; after all, it was about me.

"Her," came Boomerang Guy's voice again. I assumed he was pointing my way, for I could not see out of the cage.

"Well, she's certainly honest…" said Toph? I think that was her name.

"Yah, and she didn't refuse to telling us what we wanted to know. Although she went on bending when I told her not to," came the voice of the girl who threatened me. Katara? I remember her saying that was her name. Ha, and she thought she was intimidating.

"I don't trust her," said Avatar Aang quietly. "I don't know what it is, but there's off, like she's not telling us something or she's not telling the truth." I guess the girl name Toph was about to say something because then he said, "I know what you felt, Toph, but something's wrong." Felt? What does he mean felt?

"She said that she didn't where the mask because she was wanted. Then why does she where it? I don't think its something like Zuko. I mean, how many scar-faced teens can there be in one nation? What are the odds?" He finished angrily. Something like Prince Zuko? Is he serious? He's the only firebender I've seen who didn't stop and attack like that.

"I know what you mean," Toph said dramatically. "It angers me how she's telling the truth. I mean we're at war and everyone has a secret. She's deliberately not telling us something." All was quiet after Toph's little speech. _Damn __straight_ I have a secret! But still, everything I told them was true. I promised I'd try not to lie as much as possible.

Then I heard Boomerang Guy ask slyly, "So Toph, what's you secret?" I heard a dull _thump_ and an "Ow," came from Boomerang Guy. I like him; he's funny. "None of your business," Toph mumbled darkly. I guess that she pushed him over. Good for her!

"What about you Aang? I'd ask you, Katara, but I don't want to know what else you've got," He finished kind of darkly. 'Wonder what happened between them? All of a sudden Katara and Boomerang Guy were yelling at each other at the same time.

"You should have told me about the blanket!"

"It was none of you business!"

"You seam to forget she was my mom too!" What was all this was about a blanket?

"Umm-Uh-Stop-Hey-Guys! You know, I'll tell you one of my secrets!" yelled Avatar Aang. I put my ear on the wall so I could hear what was being said better.

"You will?" They asked in unison.

"I guess I have to now," he sighed in defeat. "The last thing that happened between me and Monk Gyatso was a game of Pai Sho, which I lost. Funny, huh?" he finished sadly and weakly. Everyone was silent. Monk Gyatso? Sounds like him and this Gyatso were close.

"You know what's weird?" he said after a while.

"Sokka," Toph responded right away. Sokka? Who's he?

"No, I mean _besides _Sokka." Avatar Aang said. "Hey!" Boomerang Guy yelled. He must be Sokka. Avatar Aang continued, "Isn't it odd how fast a conversation can change? We were talking about Nao and then we got on me at the temple. Weird, huh?" I nodded but stayed silent.

"So, it's getting late. We really need to get some sleep if were going to be hiking tomorrow. I'm heading to bed. Good night Aang, Sokka, Toph, Momo!" came Katara's voice.

"Me too. 'Night Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo." Toph's.

"Yah. Aang, Katara, Toph, Momo." Sokka's.

"See ya in the morning. 'Night Katara, Sokka, Toph, Momo." Avatar Aang's.

"Good night, Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Momo," Mine. The air after I said this held a lot of tension, then the sound of many people rushing in to tents. Then I heard the sound of the group's little lemur thing. After a few seconds he stopped and the night was silent.

So that's it? They're just going to leave me here? I'm probably going to freeze. No, wait, never mind. I'm a firebender, duh. But I'll still be cold. And bored. And lonely. And tired. I just can't go to bed, they might attack me while I sleep! I don't know them that well yet. _Sigh_. Another sleepless night. Seams I've had a bunch of them lately.

Huh? Did I just feel water? Great, it's raining. Urgh. It's raining really hard. I mean, _really, really _hard and it was coming through the silts in the wall. I'm going to be soaked by morning. Here we go again.

**x-x-x**


	6. Rain

(Toph's POV)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar… : (**

**(Sokka's POV)**

**Start Sokka's Dream Mode**

_Everything was black. I was standing in the middle of nowhere. There was a slight breeze. I looked upward and spotted a moon that gave off no light but still was visible, like yellow craft paper laid upon a sheet of black. _

"_Sokka," said a dreamy voice._

"_Yes?" I replied __into__ the darkness._

"_Sokka, it's me." Wait, I know that voice._

"_Yue?" I said calmly as I looked up to the moon. Why was I being so calm? A beam of light emitted from the moon and down descended the moon spirit, my Yue. She looked exactly as she did last time I saw her in the swamp. She stopped right in front of me._

"_Bend, Sokka."_

"_What?"_

"_Waterbend, just like your sister."_

"_I __can't__!"_

"_You can now."_

_I looked around to see that I __was__ up to my waist in water. I figured it was worth a shot. I started to move my arms like I've seen Katara do millions of times and…IT __ACTUALLY__ MOVED FOR ME!_

"_Look! I did it! I can bend!" __I exclaimed ecstatically._

"_I told you that you could. We both can now. I've missed you, and I still will."_

"_What?"_

"_Goodbye, Sokka. I love you."_

"_No, Yue, WAIT!" But it was too late; she was gone._

**End Sokka's Dream Mode**

"Wha!?" I woke up yelling. I bolted up straight. There was about an inch of water on the ground. "What the-?" There was a faint pitter-patter on the sides of my tent. I opened up the tent flap and went out side. I could tell the sun was just rising, but it was covered in clouds. There was even more water out here. I walked up to the well that Toph made. What once held such little water Katara or Aang had to Waterbend it out of the well was now overflowing with water. There was a trail of water leading downhill.

I was the only one awake, except Momo. He ran out of Aang's tent and on to my shoulder. I looked around and my eyes stopped at Ai's cage. What I saw surprised me a little. I saw her fists wrapped around at the bars of the cage from the inside. That cage was too tall for her to be able to grab the bars like that. Something was wrong.

I ran over to her cage and tried to look through the bars to see what was going on inside but I was also too short. I quickly ran over to the fire pit and pulled over one of the log's to I could see in. Standing on tiptoe, I peered in side. I found myself starring in the face of Ai. She was pale and tense at the sight of me.

She also had her hair tied up in a bun on the top of her head. What I then noticed was the seven feet of water that filled the cage. My eyes opened wide in shock. _It had rained that much?!_ After a second she eased up. Actually she over eased up, she passed out. In a split second, I jumped on the log, thrust my arms through the bars of the cage, and grabbed Ai under her arms to hold her face above the water. With this motion, Momo was thrown off my shoulder.

"Don't worry, gotcha," I said with a little panic in my voice. Only Ai's head was visible and out of the water. I was stuck in a very awkward position. Because I was too short my feet were a couple inches off the ground, my armpits held me up; Ai's weight was keeping me balanced. I started to notice how cold the water was. It was like ice, unlike Ai who was surprisingly warm for spending a night in _this _water. After a few minutes, Ai came back to consciousness and she quickly grabbed my elbows.

"Hey," she panted.

"Hey," I replied awkwardly.

"If your going to cage me tomorrow, make sure than there won't be drains in the bottom, because it almost never rains here," She said sarcastically. I let out a small chuckle.

"I'll tell Toph that," I said quietly.

"So, felt? What did Avatar Aang mean by what Toph felt? If you didn't notice, I could hear every word last night." This time I full out laughed.

"Well, Toph is blind and-"

"Blind" She asked skeptically.

"Yes, blind." I nodded.

"And she Earthbends."

"Yes, that she does. She's been blind from birth. And for some freaky reason, she can 'sense the vibrations in the earth', as she puts it. I think she said something about being taught Earthbending by badger-moles. Oh, did I mention that she's also a metalbender?"

"Metalbender, Huh?" Now this surprised me. Toph was the first Metalbender in all of history! "I've seen weirder."

"Like what?" I said mildly sarcastic but interested at the same time.

"You don't even want to know. Let's just leave it at that." It got quiet, and so we sat in this awkward position in an awkward silence. What would the rest of Team Avatar think?

"Soooo, your hair's up." I said awkwardly.

"Yah, I put it up about 11:00, I think, when the water started to go over my hips." She said trying to fill some empty talking space. "It really poured last night."

"Ya," I said quietly. Then I asked, "Why didn't your hair or mask get wet?"

"Well," she chuckled, "firebending trick. I focus the internal fire that I use to bend towards my head instead of my hands or feet. It's all in my head, and because of this, I didn't leave any heat in my feet and they're really, _really_ numb."

"What?! You could be losing your feet!" Now she's done it. She made me shout and I probably have woken everyone in camp up. We must now face the wrath of the non-morning-people Toph and Katara!

"Sokka!!" Came Toph and Katara's voices from the other side of camp.

"Now look what you've done," I whispered to Ai jokingly.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Came Katara's voice. I couldn't turn my head to see if Aang was there or not. All I could see was Ai.

"Where are they?" Toph asked confusedly, for she could not feel me off the ground and Ai in the water.

To answer Katara's question I said the only thing that came to mind.

"Nothing, just hanging around." Ai and I broke out laughing. Still chuckling I yelled, "Hey Toph! Could you possibly bend down Ai's cage? It would be a big help!" Second later Ai and I were on the ground, side-by-side soaking wet and freezing cold. The second I realized we were on the ground; I sat up, pulled Ai's pants-legs up to her knees, and took a look at her legs. They were slightly bluish.

"Katara! Fix her legs!" I said pointing at Ai. Katara took a look and rushed towards her. Ai looked at her legs and held out her hand to stop Katara.

"No, its okay, 'Tara. I got it," and with this she put both her hands on her legs and she bended tons of hot, red fire on to them. As the flames licked at her legs they started to return to their normal color.

"That can not be good for you legs," said Katara in a shocked and slightly disgusted at what Ai just did. They weren't burned in the slightest. But still, the thought of burning your own legs?

"They've been through worse," said Ai casually as she stood up.

"Sooo, what just happened?" asked Toph.

"Oh, ya. Well I got up and saw that we were being flooded and I turned to see Ai's fists clamped on the bar of her cage. I went to see what was up and I saw that her cage was full of water and the second she saw me, she kinda, sorta fainted. So I jumped up and grabbed her so she wouldn't drown. And then you guys showed up. The end," said Sokka finishing on a lighter note.

"So when she _saw you _she fainted, Sokka?" said Katara. I nodded. Then, I took a second to fully process this. After a second Ai and I turned slightly red. Then Ai, quick as lightning, came up to Katara and punched her in the arm.

"Hey," Katara yelped.

"Would you have rather me firebend at you?" She asked sassily, all ready knowing the answer.

"We should get packing so we can get a move on," said Aang.

"Good, lets go," said Katara who immediately turned to the tents and began to pack. Toph and Aang followed shortly. Meanwhile, Ai on the right and I on the left stood wet and cold. A minute or so Ai took a couple steps to the right of me. She stuck her right arm out to the side with her palm facing the same direction as her arm. Her left arm was up with her ring and middle fingers pointed … _AT ME!?_

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not going Firebend at you. You just saved my life," she said seeing the shocked look on my face. She began to move her arms in small opposite circles. Out of her pointed fingers came a blast of warm air. It felt really good. The cold began to leave me and I started to dry out. After a minute, I was complete dry.

"Thanks," I said to Ai as I went to help pack.

"You're welcome," she said starting the process of drying herself off.


	7. Boat Building

(Toph's POV)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar**

**(Toph's POV)**

"So, when am I going to start teaching firebending to Avatar Aang?"

We were just marching along, in the rain. It had been hours since Sokka had woken us all up. We packed most of our campsite on Hotaru's ostrich-horse. No one really trusted her with most of our possessions, so Snoozles lead the animal along.

"Whenever you decided to start, Sifu," Said Aang sassily.

"Attitude much?"

"Yah, what's up with you lately, Aang?" Katara asked.

"Nothing," Aang said quickly. I smirked.

"I can tell your lying!" I said in a singsong voice.

"Shut up," he spat.

"Hotaru's right, attitude much?" Then there was silence.

"So what's the plan?" Hotaru asked.

"Whoa–whoa-whoa! I'm not sure I trust you yet. 'Till then, you aren't going to be told anything," Sokka declared, shaking his head. He shook his head a little to enthusiastically, causing his sopping wet wolf tail came loose of it's holder and fell in front of his eyes.

"Okay then. I'll just travel the Fire Nation with a dead kid, three fugitives and teach the dead Avatar, enemy to the Fire Nation, firebending. Don't tell me anything though, I'll just follow you blindly when I could be killed by my own people's soldiers at any moment," her voice dripped with sarcasm.

"You sound like Snoozles," I said pointing my thumb over in Sokka's direction. Sokka was struggling to quickly put his hair back up. The backs he was carrying and the fact that his hair was slippery made it a little difficult.

"I do, now do I?" She said in mock insult. I took a few steps forward so I was even with Katara and mumbled, "And who killed the Fire Lord and made Sokka king?" Then Katara mumbled in my ear, "Aang." We laughed.

"What's so funny?" Sokka asked. He had been completely left out of the loop.

"Nothing, Sokka. Nothing at all," responded Katara.

Silence blanketed the whole group again. Momo hopped up on my shoulder, demanding attention, so a scratched him between his ears. After about fifteen minutes Hotaru asked, "Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"We're heading to the other side of the island to take the ferry across to Haze Island."

"If you want me to teach Aang, and the rest of you still want to bend in and shape or form, I suggest we go to Silerzon Island. Its uninhabited, big enough, and far way from the other islands. It would be perfect," said Hotaru matter-of-factly.

"That sounds great, but where is it?" I asked.

"Between New Azulon and the Gates of Azulon. Their about 30 miles apart."

"Sounds perfect. What's the catch?" said Sokka.

"The catch is that since no one lives there, there is no ferry to the island. So we either need to buy or to build a boat."

"We don't have Fire Nation money yet," said Katara.

"And I don't know how to build a boat," said Sokka.

"Katara and I could bend a raft of ice," Aang offered.

"No, to noticeable. So we have two choices left. You could get a job or learn to build a boat," said Hotaru.

"The most useful choice is to learn to build a boat," I reasoned.

"Yah, it's a good skill to learn. We'll use it everyday," Snoozles said sarcastically.

"It's actually a good idea," said Aang. His heart rate sped up as he shifted his bag he was carrying, which made him wince. I don't think Sugar Queen noticed, though. If she had, Twinkle Toes would be kneeling; getting his back healed and wouldn't be allowed to carry anything. I want to shout 'Suck it up, you're the Avatar, for spirits sake!', but that would alert Katara.

But then that would be weird, hypocritical, since I was in tears after he got hit.

_I, Sokka, Appa, and the Earth King had just arrived when Katara had just popped out of the catacombs in a rush. Her heartbeat raced; she was crying. I could feel her, but not Aang. I figured he would soon pop out of the tunnel Katara just did, but he didn't. _

_Sokka's heartbeat sky-rocked next to me. This got me worried. "Sokka? What's wrong?" I asked, curious but nervous. "A-Aang…" He cloaked out mournfully. "What happened?" Something was terribly wrong. I stomped once, trying to emphasis my demand to know what's going on._

_The vibrations returned to me showed that Katara was holding something, something big and bulky. I could sense a still-__house;__ it was the shape of a young boy. I was starting to shake. My breath caught in my throat. Aang… _

_We quickly boarded Appa and took off in to the sky. I couldn't feel anything now. I was crying quietly, unlike someone who's friend had- don't think that Toph. Why didn't I feel him? I didn't hear his heart beat either. He __can't__- No. I-He can't be-but I would __have__ felt him if he was still…Katara was hugging Aang in his usual seat at Appa's front. The Earth King, with Bosco, sat in the back which left me and Sokka to the middle. _

"_Tell me what's wrong!" I demanded as I __cried.__ Sokka crawled over to me and whispered in my ear._

"_He's… he's not…" he sighed. "He's dead." The news cut like a knife. Aang? Dead? No, it can't be. Katara was sobbing wile Sokka tried to stay strong. I tried to follow Sokka's lead, but tears silently continued to stream down my cheeks and I shook slightly. The earth king sat quietly, mourning the Avatars death._

_I could hear Katara sharply inhale and reach for something at the chest. Then, there was the clanking of glass on glass and swishing of water. I wonder what's going on__.__ The air made a quick vibrating noise and fell silent. Katara began to cry again and Aang groaned lowly, wait, __**Aang**__ groaned! He's alive! Katara stopped crying and Sokka gasped quietly. I sucked it up at once. _

"_The Earth Kingdom…has fallen," said the Earth King hopelessly. _

That had to be one of the worst days of my live so far.

"Toph? You okay? You look like you're about to cry," said Aang making me jump a mile. He was standing next to me now.

"Yah, I'm fine. It's nothing," I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "If you don't want to babied by Sugar Queen for the rest of your life you got to suck it up, but don't push your self so hard. You'll get hurt further." He's heart sped up, so he must be blushing.

"You noticed?" he whispered back sheepishly.

"There isn't anything you do I don't know about, Twinkle Toes. Like how your little heart races when you see Kata-" I was cut off by Aang's "Shhhswahtshhhh! What are you-I mean-uh", his stuttering, and his heart beating faster. I smirked. It was so much fun embarrassing him.

"So it's decided?" Sokka said loudly over Aang's continuing babbling. "We're building a boat?"

"Yup," said Katara excitedly. Then it was quiet for a few minutes wile we walked.

"So…Sokka needs to learn how build a boat." I said, hoping to get some conversation in the air.

"What!?" Sokka exclaimed as he stopped marching, and the ostrich-horse snorted angrily. "No one's going to help me!?"

"Nope!" we replied teasingly in unison. Sokka crossed his arms and pouted like a three-year-old. We all laughed.

(Nao's POV)

It rained the rest of that week. Things were pretty awkward and quiet, no one really talked to me. We were camped at the coast, a couple miles away from the town with the ferry. Sokka had been working on his 'Boat Fit or the Saviors of the Four Nations' for the last few days and would not let anyone see it, not even me, and I can't even see! He now really didn't care if he didn't get any help, he was quite proud of himself. He would keep asking Hotaru for direction but he wouldn't let the blind girl see. He is so stupid.

It was mid-afternoon when he ran in to camp all excited, told us that he had finished, and commanded us to come look. He practically skipped to where he had been working on the boat. It was starting to annoy me that Sokka was so excited about something that I can't see. Then Sokka stopped skipping and held out his arm. I could feel the general position of the boat, but not what it looked like

"Well, there it is," he said proudly. "What do you think?"

"Wow, it _looks _awesome!" I just had to; he left it wide open for me.

"Thanks Toph, that's so-… Why must you feel the need to do that?" Hotaru burst out laughing, I smirked and Katara and Aang choked on their own laughter. Sokka frowned deeply.

"Katara, Aang, Ai, what do _you _think?"

"It kinda, sorta looks like a boat," said Aang, obviously looking for something positive about it.

"Does it float?" Katara asked cautiously.

"Of course it flo- actually, I haven't tried it yet." Same old Sokka.

"Well let's try!" said Hotaru trying to make Sokka feel better. On cue, I Earthbended the boat off the ground and headed to where my feeling got fuzzy. I placed it down on the sand and let everyone do the rest of the work. Hotaru, Sokka, and Katara ran forward to push it in before Aang could even take a step. The got it all the way into the water, only to find that it sank.

"Awwwwwww man!" Sokka exclaimed in disappointment.

"Well, I guess its back to square o-" I began to say when Aang cut me off.

"Wait! I got it!" And before Katara could stop him, he was Waterbending. He flinched slightly. Katara's heart raced in anger and concern, and Sokka's in excitement. Hotaru smirked.

"What?" I asked. "What did he do?"

"He fixed the boat's little sinking problem by bending the water that was filling up the bottom in to ice," said Sokka happily. "Now all we need it to put wood on the ice so our feet don't slip." With that, he ran off in to the woods to cut some more wood. Hotaru went off after him, muttering something about making sure he wasn't going to kill himself. Katara marched up to Aang, opening her mouth to yell at him when I held out my hand to stop her.

"What's your problem, Sugar Queen?" I said loudly. "Aang's old enough to know his own limits. He can handle himself, for spirits sake, he's the Avatar! He doesn't need you watching him like a dragon hawk. You don't need to get all upset and emotional every time he gets a scratch! You may not believe this, but you're not his mom." She recoiled in shock.

"I-you- How _dare you_? I'm just making sure he doesn't hurt himself! And _you're _a filthy hypocrite! You were _sobbing_! And-"

"So were you! Then you had to go and show off you fancy Waterbending skills!" I cut her off, screaming.

"Are you saying I shouldn't have? What should I have done? Let him die, hmmm?" she said this pointing sharply at Aang who almost fell flat on his back in shock. "I should have let the Avatar, the world's greatest hero and my best friend _die_? I don't think so! And I do not act like his mom!" I could feel her heartbeat shoot through the roof, and the vibrations told me that she had her arms crossed in defiance, and her face was heated with angry red blotches.

"I beg to differ!" I spat acidly. Next thing I knew, Katara had pounced. I think she totally forgot she could bend. She had me pinned to the ground and was smacking me. I took the first couple blows because I was shocked, then I bent myself into the ground, leaving her stuck on the surface. I took a moment to catch my breath and sense her every move. When she stopped moving, I bend myself straight up under her, knocking her off her feet. Before she could even stand up, I sunk her feet into the ground.

Now she remembered she could bend. She took her double water-whips to me. This was unfair, I couldn't see them coming. I took the few seconds between each blow to grab where she hit me in pain. Then she did the coldest thing yet, she froze a shoe of ice around my feet. This left me unable to bend, see and made me a sitting duck. She kept hitting me with her whips as I tried to break the ice on my feet.

"Uh, guys?" Aang said kinda awkwardly from behind us. The ice around my toes was chipping away and soon enough, there was none on them at all. This gave me something to work with. I dug my toes in to the ground, unbent Katara's feet, and sent a mound of earth at Katara, knocking her over and burying her torso. Then, in one sharp movement, I turned the earth to stone.

"What now, Sugar Queen!?" I exclaimed mockingly. I went back to trying to break the ice. "Twinkle Toes, you wanna help?" I exclaimed pointing at my feet. The he stuttered a bit as his heartbeat rose and fell silent. Of course, he doesn't want to help Katara's opponent. Suddenly, something hard and cold hit my head and stuck over my ears.

I screamed and my hands flew over my ears. They were covered in earmuffs of ice. I scratched at them as my head turned every which way. I was a sitting duck not only to attacking, but knowing when something was coming.

I was afraid. Katara was angry, really angry. She was a great Waterbender and if needed, she could kill. She was now sending chunks of ice my way. They were hard and stung like fire when thy made contact. Suddenly, my hands were wet then covered in ice. I backed up to try to get out of her reach when I felt water on my ankles. I fell backwards to the sand, my hands only managed to catch me at the last second. Streams of tears were flowing down my cheeks.

I was on a small, newly bent island, three yards away from shore. I stopped crying and stood up, about to bend a pathway back to shore when a shout cut me off.

"IT'S MY DUTY AT AVATAR TO KEEP PEACE AND STOP FIGHTING!" Aang shouted so loud that some raven eagles in a near by tree took flight. "What is wrong with you two? You could have killed each other right here and now! Katara, you're being totally horrible and severe to Toph! Toph, you're being rude and unfair to Katara! Next time a fight get half as far as that one did, I'll personally fly the both of you to the Fire Lord's palace and hand you to Zuko! That sound good to you?!" This shocked me. I have never heard Aang so mad. "Now talk out your problems!"


	8. Musical Hippies

(Toph's POV)

**Disclaimer: I do not own avatar**

**This message was approved by Toph : )**

**(Happens after Sokka runs in the woods)**

**(Nao's POV)**

"Sokka! Sokka wait _up_!" I shouted.

"Hum?!" he responded over his shoulder as he ran. He pranced into a clearing of chopped down trees and stopped. He pulled an axe out of a tree stump, ran to his left, picked a small tree and began to chop.

"What-do-you-want?" He huffed between chops.

"Just came to make sure you don't get hurt," I mumbled, a slow blush coming to heat my face. I was glad for the mask.

"Did Katara send you? Has she already gone on about how big of a klutz I am and how I get my self in to trouble? Well, newsflash, I don't need a babysitter!" His outburst left me flabbergasted.

"No, she said nothing of the sort. Nor did she say how you can turn from joyful to annoyed in ten seconds flat!" I spat, annoyed at how he was so annoyed at my good deed. I felt guilty seconds later for lashing out at him. There was an awkward silence; the only sound in the air was the sound of Sokka's axe on wood.

In the time I had known these people, I hadn't really learned much about them. They seemed to not want to let me in on anything. They kept to them selves and I'm pretty sure they have been sleeping in shifts to keep an eye on me. I don't blame them, though. An enemy girl claiming she was on your side when you hiding from the world and running for your life is not something you should just open your self up to.

"Here, let me help," I said when Sokka continued to chop. He stepped back after a moment and held out the axe, but I wasn't going to use the axe. I walked straight past it, towards the tree. I took a deep breath and sent a wave of fire towards the base of the tree, setting it aflame.

"What are you doing?" Sokka yelled behind me, a sound that I chose to ignore at that moment. I let the trunk burn for a few more seconds before bending the fire off it and let it go out.

"Now chop," I said simply. He cautiously took the axe and chopped. The wood chopped like a steak knife to toast. He smirked and began to chop at a more rapid rate. Soon, the tree was lying in the ground.

"Thanks," he panted as he sat down to take a break.

"You're welcome," I said happily. Then I said more quietly, "Least I could do after you saved my life. By the way, I never said thanks, so yeah. Thank you." He smiled.

"You're welcome. Sorry I exploded at you. It's just, I screw thing up a lot and Katara tends to make a point of that. She treats me like I'm five when _I'm_ the older one, not her. It just frustrates me," he finished angrily.

"I know what you mean. I was the adopted child; every one treated me like I was the youngest when in fact I was the oldest of the kids. My mother babied me, me father restricted me like I was two, I had to be a perfect little girl in front of him, and my sister would always try to trick me in to doing stupid things. My brother was the only one who treated me like I was my actual age," I said strongly. "Even with my real father I had to be a perfect little girl. I hated it. I was happy to leave."

"Ummm," was his only response. He picked up the axe again began to chop the wood in to strips for the boat's floor.

"Here, let me help," I pulled out a dagger and began hacking away at the opposite side of the trunk. Together in the span of twenty minutes, we had enough wood to cover the boat's floor three times over.

"Good work Team Avatar," said Sokka, admiring our handiwork. I smiled. The rest of the group wasn't here and he was saying Team Avatar, like he was saying I was now part of the group. It felt nice.

It was then that I realized my right wrist hurt from all the chopping. Sokka had enough room on the axe handle for to hand for both of his hands, but my little dagger only had room for one hand, my right. I was known to forget I was ambidextrous and would only use one hand. I grabbed my wrist and squeezed it to get the blood to flow properly, but it was a little swollen, making me wince.

"You okay?" He asked noticing my actions.

"It's nothing, just a little sore," I replied, quickly letting it go.

"We can have Katara look at that if you want."

"Look who's babying now," I said smugly.

"Oh, sorry. Let's get back to camp." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure," I said picking up some planks and putting them under my arm. Sokka followed my actions and also picked up his axe in his free hand. We slowly and carefully began walking back to camp, after all, this was the same forest that I first ran in to the gang and, by Agni, it was _dense_!

"By the way, Sokka, I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"Not most people could single-handedly build a boat for six** (Momo counts) **in such a short time. It's quite a feat."

"Yah, well…" he said trying to be modest. I turned to see a slight blush on his face. This made me smirk. He noticed this, lost the blush and exclaimed, "What?"

"Nothing, Sokka. Nothing at all."

"Why must everyone tease Sokka?" This made me laugh out loud. He was talking to himself in third person.

"Since when did you become the third person?" I asked mockingly.

"That's exactly what I mean!"

"Sorry…" I muttered.

"Did people go on mocking _you_ like this?"

"Actually, they did. My best friends' brothers and sisters used to tease me."

"What were they like?" He turned his head toward me, walking into a small tree in the process. I quickly stifled my laughter.

"Who?"

"The people that you hung out with." He answered, when he had recovered. He had turned back to the path, his head down, focused on the ground.

"Well, most of them were benders. The ones who weren't could use every weapon and fighting technique under the sun. Some of them taught me to use some of those weapons and techniques." I explained. For some reason, it wasn't hard to talk to him about my old life.

"Like what?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"Well, like the knives I was throwing, hand-to-hand combat, swords, whips, bow and arrows, and your favorite, boomerangs, along with many others." He stopped walking and stared at me, his mouth open.

"They use boomerangs in the Fire Nation?!" This made me laugh as I continued to walk.

"In learning the weapons of you enemies you will discover said weapon's weaknesses, thus a step closer to beating them in a battle."

"That makes…_so_ much sense," he said thoughtfully. He jogged to catch up with me.

"Yup."

"Can you teach me some of this stuff?"

"Sure," I smiled. After a moment, I said "Hey, can I ask you a question? What happened to Aang? I know the Fire Nation thinks he died and everything, but what actually happened? They really don't tell us citizens much."

"Uh, well… Princess Azula shot him down with lightning."

"Huh?"

"The evil ball of insanity you and your people call 'Princess' killed the Avatar, protector of the four nations, with lightning."

"All I wanted was the last part. I've heard rumors that she could bend lightning, but nothing confirmed. _Interesting_…"

"What? Nothing about how your royal family killed the Avatar? Or how I insulted them?"

"Azula and Ozai are crazy and making people suffer. They need to go down," I said simply as I stared ahead. He looked sideways at me in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Really, really." And we got quiet. Azula? Lightning? How can she use it so…freely? This is really, really ba-

"What's with the mask?" Sokka blurted out. I giggled.

"Everyone I meet asks me that question or shouts 'What the hell is on that girl's face?!' like I can't hear them. I really don't know, I just do. I like having an air if mystery!" I pulled my cloak over half my face and peered over it suspiciously.

"Ha-ha, very funny. Really, why?"

"I'm wanted. If people knew who I was, they would go after my family to get to me. See what I'm saying? That's also why I go by so many names."

"Ah," Sokka said nodding. Bringing my mind back to the subject of Azula in the quiet that followed, I know that her teachers Lo, Li, and General Iroh could bend it, but her? How could she produce it so easily and so quickly that the Avatar couldn't get out of the way or stop her? And where can I learn to bend like that?

"Hey, Ai. Why did the badger mole cross the Cave of Two Lovers?" Sokka asked me. That brought me from my reprieve. This was one I never heard before. I knew what a badger mole was, but what in Agni's name was 'The Cave of Two Lovers'? I decided to play along anyway.

"Why?" I asked with interest. But I never learned why the badger mole crossed The Cave of Two Lovers, because we walked into the strangest seen I have ever seen. Toph was on an island three feet from the shore and Katara was sunken up to her neck in the sand. Aang had his arms out in the positions of the bending he had just done.

"IT'S MY DUTY AT AVATAR TO KEEP PEACE AND STOP FIGHTING!" Aang shouted so loud that some raven eagles in a near by tree took flight. "What is wrong with you two? You could have killed each other right here and now! Katara, you're being totally horrible and severe to Toph! Toph, you're being rude and unfair to Katara! Next time a fight get half as far as that one did, I'll personally fly the both of you to the Fire Lord's palace and hand you to Zuko! That sound good to you?!" This shocked me. I haven't heard Avatar Aang so mad. "Now talk out your problems!"

I couldn't take it. That last statement was so funny and, well, childish that I burst out laughing. Everyone's head turned my way. Aang was huffing and staring at me, eyes full of anger. Sokka and Katara had confused faces on. Toph just stared at me blankly. Her eyes were a little red and puffy. She had been crying. I stopped laughing. This girl was tough as nails and wouldn't cry easily.

"What just happened?" Sokka asked, tearing his eyes away from me.

"Katara and Toph were fighting and your sister almost killed Toph." Both Sokka and my eyes widened.

"What?!" As we turned to Katara, she turned away while mumbling something that wasn't understandable. In the short period I had known her, Katara didn't seem the type to kill. "What did she do to you?"

"_She-was-saying-things-like-I-shouldn't-have-saved-Aang-and-was-taunting-me-and-atacking-me-and-calling-me-motherly-and…and…!"_She said this in top speed before she ran out of things to fuel her argument, so she fell silent. I could see that Toph, on her little island, was shaking like mad.

Aang must have seen that too because he bent Toph to shore. She stiffly walked over to stand between Sokka and me, gripping his arm tightly. I could sense that Sokka needed a while with his sister to…well, yell at her. Toph and I really didn't need to be in the middle of that. I put my hand on Toph shoulder, her head turned sharply towards me.

"Hey," I whispered. "Let me take you back to camp." She nodded. I placed my wood on the ground and lead Toph in to the woods. She was still shaking. I felt bad for the poor girl. Katara and Toph had always given me the vibe that were each other's best friends but wouldn't outright admit it, and now this.

"You okay?" I asked cautiously.

"I…think so…" she replied shakily. I decided to take a chance.

"Would you mind if I asked what happened?"

"I was standing up for Aang. You've seen the way Katara's been babying Aang. I told her that she wasn't his mom and to ease up. She got angry, took things I said the wrong way and attacked me. Not that I didn't have any faults in this, but still…" I gave her a sideways, one-arm hug to try to make her feel better.

"Let's talk about something happier," I suggested. "Ummm…so how did you learn to Earthbend?"

"Badger moles," she said simply. "They're blind, too. We got along like this," she crossed her middle and pointer fingers. "I guess they kind of taught me to 'see' at the same time as Earthbend. They taught me the basics and the rest I taught myself."

"No Earthbending Sifu?"

"Are you kidding me? My parents wouldn't let me sneeze on my own, let alone Earthbend. In fact, most people didn't even know I existed. That's why I became The Blind Bandit."

"What's 'The Blind Bandit'?"

"Oh, yeah. _Fire Nation_…"

"What? Just because I live in a different part of the world I don't have the right to know things I previously didn't? _Please_ tell me," I tried to give her puppy-leopard eyes before I realized that I was trying to give them to a blind girl. I stopped right away, feeling quite stupid.

"Okay, okay. In the Earth Kingdom, there are Earthbending tournaments. Since my parents didn't know and wouldn't let me Earthbend, I made my show name, 'The Blind Bandit.' Happy?"

"Yeah, also, what's 'The Cave of Two Lovers'?" She smacked her forehead with her hand.

"A labyrinth of tunnels made by the first Earthbenders, Oma and Shu. They were the founders of Omashu."

"Flamin'," I replied as I nodded. She tried to choke back her laughter unsuccessfully. I was happy I was starting to make her feel better.

"What?"

"Flamin'. Fire Nation version of cool. The word's 'cool', right?"

"Okay then…." She said as I nodded. Then, she broke out in laughter again.

"Okay, okay, I know. Now shut up," I said, pouting. "You're starting to make me feel stupid."

Katara had gotten and ear full from Sokka; Aang sat there to make sure that there wasn't another fight. She came back to camp looking like she was going to cry. Everyone when to bed silently after Sokka announced that he'd finished the boat and we'd be leaving for the island first thing tomorrow. We all woke up at the crack of dawn, packed, and hiked over to the boat. We carefully placed our baggage in the boat. Sokka was the first to talk all day.

"Aang, you on sails, Katara can be the lookout, Ai on anchor, Momo and Toph can just hang out," We all stood there and stared at him. "Well? Get moving!" We jumped in to action for the jobs assigned to us. Toph was the only one to protest.

"Why do I do nothing? That's not fair!" She said loudly. She swiped her hand at Momo, who was hovering above her head.

"Okay, Toph. What do you want to do?" I asked diplomatically, instead of reminding her of her blindness.

"I erm…well…er…never mind…" She finished weakly, a slight scowl on her face. She flopped down near the side of the boat, leaning against the side.

"Aang, can you give us a good gust off shore?" Sokka asked. But instead of letting Aang Airbend or even move for that matter, Katara bent the tide in farther on shore and the boat lifted free. I could hear Toph muttering darkly about how the whole argument yesterday had no effect. Sokka steered us away from the island by following my directions.

"A couple of degrees west, then keep going for another six nautical miles," I said reading off my map. "Right, that's it."

"Where did you learn to sail?" Sokka asked.

"They have boats in the Fire Nation, too," I said. "One of my nonbender friends had a dad in the navy. The dad taught her and she taught me. Little more to the port side, Sokka."

"No, I'm on the right track. If anything, I should be moving toward the starboard side."

"Who has the map?" I countered matter-of-factly.

"Who made the boat?!"

"What does that have to do with anything? Does that makes you go the right way?! If you keep going that way you'll run straightinto the Gates of Azulon! That's really bad if you trying to hide! I live in the Fire Nation, I should know!"

"So living tin the Fire Nation makes right?! You are so much like Z-"

"Will both of you shut up?" Toph yelled, breaking up the argument. "I'm sick enough as it is without a headache!" In fact, she did look very green. The fact that see couldn't 'see' wouldn't make it much easier for her either.

"Sorry…" I said.

"Guys!" came Katara's frantic voice from across the boat. "We're being approached by another boat!"

"What?" Toph shot up from her position on the bottom of the boat. She cautiously sat on the side of the little boat as it rocked dangerously, clinging on the sides for dear life.

"Hide me!" I said as I flung myself on the floor of the boat where Toph had previously been. This caused the boat to nearly keel over, almost sending Momo and Toph in to the water.

"Why?" Katara asked from across the boat.

"Um, yeah maybe because I'm wanted," I said sarcastically pointing at my mask. I started to pile our stuff on top of me. Five minutes later, the boat was so close, I could hear the ropes banning on the hull of the ship.

"Wha yer kids doin' outta school? An if yer dunt have school, why ain't yer at home doin' chores? Wha's this thin' anywers?" came an old man's voice. Damn! I forgot school was still going on.

"Tell him we're delivering a package to your grandparents on Ember Island," I hissed up to Sokka who quickly repeated it, fumbling over a few words.

"Erkay then, hurry on then," he said shortly before the sounds of a boat sailing away.

"Are they gone?" Toph asked.

"Yeah," Aang answered her from across the boat. I popped up from my hiding place.

"Whew, that was close. I need to teach you Fire Nation culture. First of all, everyone is really strict. No games, singing and dancing are formal and only for events." I went on explaining every thing I could think of for the duration of the journey. Hours later we arrived at my little island.

It was dark by the time we got there, but I didn't need light to find my way around. I knew it like the back of my hand. I had to use it on several occasions. The island was longer than it was wide. It was lush with forests spread across it, which had a rather large clearing in the middle for a lake. The lake was saltwater-freshwater mix and was fed by a small river coming from the ocean. On the other side of the lake was a small river that drained the lake in to the ocean. The ground by the lake was uneven causing the lake to have small waterfalls in it and slight rapids.

I led our group straight through the woods and to the shore of the lake. We quickly unpacked, set up camp, and went to bed. Before I fell asleep, however I heard Sokka mutter,

"You still want to know why the badger mole crossed The Cave of Two Lovers?"

"Yeah," I whispered.

"Because the music playing hippies were on the other side!" He whispered ecstatically, fully expecting me to laugh.

"Huh?"


	9. Bordom Gets Even The Avatar

(Toph's POV)

**Disclaimer: I do not own avatar**

**(Katara's POV)**

"_Katarrrrrrrrra_!" Sokka whined. "Can't you cook any faster?"

I slammed down the spoon I was holding and sent him a death glare. From the second he woke up he had been pestering me for food. I had started preparing for the meal seconds before he woke up and hand done nothing but cook since.

"Food only heats up so quickly!" I shot back. Toph, Cho and Aang sat quietly on a log a couple feet away watching us. "Now shut up and sit!" I said as I pointed to the log. He sulkily walked over to the log and plopped down.

"Breakfast is ready!" I shouted over my shoulder a few minutes later, sounding much relived. Everyone rushed over to claim his or her bowls and get a seat. Aang sat sandwiched between Toph and I.

"So…" said Aang between mouthfuls, turning to Cho. "Are you going to start teaching me now?"

She put down she chopsticks. "Tomorrow. Last night was a full moon. Full moons weaken firebending. It would be quite hard for a newbie to even manipulate fire today. The affects should wear off by then." She resumed eating.

"…Ok, then," said Aang unsurely. I watched as Cho leaned over and whispered in Sokka's ear. I eyed them suspiciously. Sokka smiled and shook his head. Cho grinned and faced us.

"Why did the badger moles cross the Cave of Two Lovers?" She asked proudly. Toph, Aang and I all groaned. She looked at us puzzled then asked "What?"

"Snoozles has gotten to you!" Toph yelled as if it was the end of the world. "Now there will be three people with really bad jokes!" I raised an eyebrow.

"Three?" I asked.

"You're worse than Snoozles," She said simply. I sent her a death glare, which I remembered later she couldn't see. I kept up though; it made me feel better.

"Well, you want to know?" Cho asked hopefully.

"No," we chorused back.

* * *

"I'm bored," Sokka complained.

"We know," Aang droned back.

"I'm hungry." He complained again, his voice sounding whinier by the moment, a feat I had thought impossible.

"So what? You're always hungry," Toph shot back, receiving a glare from Sokka, which I had the peculiar feeling she had sensed.

"Let's _do_ something," said Aang. Sokka rolled his eyes and flopped backwards off the rock he was sitting on, to sprawl across the ground, trying to nap.

"Like what, Twinkle Toes? You and Sugar Queen could go splash around but that leaves out the rest of us. We could go spar, but we'll get distracted by the sound of Snoozles complaining." We sat in silence trying to figure out what to do.

"HEY!" said Sokka angrily before he decided he didn't care and went back to his nap.

"Hey, I've got a good idea," said Aang after a minute or two.

"Um?" Sokka said sleepily.

"Lets have two races; one with bending, and one without." He ignored Sokka, and spoke to the rest of us.

"That sounds like fun," I said happily.

"Okay, but I get to use my weapons," said Sokka, still behind the rock. Why would he want his Boomerang and club? Wouldn't they be heavy and slow him down? "And no glider for you, Aang."

"Deal."

Fifteen minutes later Aang, Sokka, Toph, Cho, and I were in a line determining where-to's and 'round-back-again's.

"Over, through, or around the lake, through the woods, across the field, to the shore and back," said Toph as Sokka scratched a line in to the dirt, marking the finishing line. Toph, finding it insufficient bent a line deep in to the earth.

"Great, let's count off," said Aang.

"1…2…3…GO!" We said in unison. And off we went.

Aang was in the lead, followed by Toph, then me with Sokka and Cho at my heels. Aang had an advantage over everyone in this round, being the Avatar and having all four elements to help him. Toph was using her 'earth running for her' thing. Oh, well. At least I'll have an advantage over Toph, Sokka, and Cho when it comes to the lake and one over Aang in the woods.

Toph sent three huge boulders back at Sokka, Cho, and me, and one forward at Aang. The three of us dodged it, but Aang, who didn't see it coming, go hit in the hip and fell on his face. He shortly recovered and started running again. I swallowed the lump of worry that had jumped to my throat, glancing back at Toph; I remembered the fight we had had earlier.

"You never said 'no bending people out of commission'!" Toph laughed over her shoulder. She was right. I smirked evilly. I bended out some water from my pouch and bended ice over Aang, Toph, Cho, and Sokka's feet. Sokka and Cho disappeared from over my shoulder and Aang and Toph stopped dead in front of me.

About the time I got up to Aang, he had realized what had happened and thawed out his feet. I turned my head over my shoulder to see that Cho had Firebended her feet out. She was also melting the ice on Sokka's feet. What's with those two, instant best friends much? In a matter of seconds Toph was out too, I kicked it in to high gear.

With Aang two yards ahead of me, we reached about three miles away from the lake. As we did, I decided what I was going to do to get past it. Two miles. One mile. Ten yards. One yard. I ran straight in to the water. I moved my arms as if I was going to do a breaststroke, but instead I zoomed across the water. Aang had formed an ice pathway which as soon as he went over it, he bent it back to water.

How were Toph, Sokka, and Cho going to get across the water? Keeping my motion, I turned to see what they were doing. Toph had conjured up a stone pathway, which she was letting Cho and Sokka run across.

We were nearing the other side of the lake. The forest began directly at the end of the lake, so me and Aang both had to slow down. As soon as it was shallow enough I started to run and bent some water in to my pouch. I also bent the water out of my clothes so they wouldn't slow me down. It was dark in there. I ran quietly and light-footedly through the forest. The ground was dense with roots and branches that I kept falling over. I could hear Aang jumping from tree branch to tree branch. Hearing the crunching of leaves and snapping branches, I knew that Toph, Cho and Sokka weren't far behind me.

"I hate the woods!" I heard Toph yell behind me.

"Me too, Toph. Especially when you're running threw them," I panted still running.

"Hey, Sugar Queen. I didn't even feel you there." She was next to me now.

"You feel Cho or Sokka?"

"Yah, they're ahead of you." Crap! How did they out run me this quickly?

"Thanks Toph," and with that I sped in front of her.

"HEY!" she called behind me, nearly running straight into a tree.

Urgh, Cho and Sokka are fast! Its ok, I'll just have to pick it up more than I already am. I saw a light ahead of me. Yes! The end of the forest was right there! I came to the edge of the forest to see Cho and Sokka had just appeared out of the dense woods as well. Aang was already turned around and heading back into the forest.

Sokka, Cho, and I ran in a straight line to the shoreline and then turned around. Back into the jungle we went. I almost ran smack in to Toph when I took one step inside the forest.

"Sorry," Toph muttered. "So many plants and roots in the ground I can't 'see' well…"

"It's okay," I said running around her. I heard her start to earth-run to the shore and then back. I could see a tiny red light in front of me. As I got closer to it I discovered that it was Cho with a flame in her hand.

"Hey," I called to her.

"Hey 'Tara. Sup?" I rolled my eyes when she said her nickname for me, '_'Tara_'.

"Nothing. I thought I told you never to call me that again? Thanks for the light, though. Now I can see where I'm stepping."

"Your welcome, but," my ears perked and I listened carefully. Then-

WHAM!

"Use your own element!" She yelled over her shoulder, abandoning me on the ground. She tripped me! No matter. Speed it up, step lightly, be careful, and win. Those were my goals for the day. I stood up and proceeded to run. My ankle hurt from when I fell, so I couldn't run at my best.

Soon enough, I was out of the forest and into the lake. I used the same method I had used last time to get across the lake. I saw Cho starting to run around the lake, I saw Toph bending stepping-stones for herself this time and then I saw Sokka…_swimming_? He was going to swim the two-mile lake. He. Is. An. _Idiot_.

Aang was all ready across the lake and running at top speed. He's coming in first, but I could come in second! I reached the edge of the lake within a minute. Toph had now reached this side of the lake and was earth-running. Damn, she's going to beat me! At least I'll come in third.

All I have to do now is beat Sokka and Cho. Cho had now made it around the lake and Sokka was a few yards away form the edge of the lake. I was only a few yards away from camp. Two yards. Sokka's at my side. One yard. Cho's at my side. There! We tied, me Sokka and Cho, that is.

I collapsed on the ground past the finish line, panting at Toph and Aang's feet, both of who didn't look tired at all. They had their bending to run for them. Seconds later I was joined on the ground by Cho, panting as hard as I was. Sokka, on the other hand, was still standing.

"That was a good work-out," he said rolling his shoulders before he fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"So, who's up for the next race?" asked Aang. Sokka, Cho and I bolted straight up into a sitting position. We turned and glared at him. I took my water-whip, knocked him off his feet, and froze him to the ground. I unfroze him immediately when I noticed him wince in pain.

"You, Avatar Aang, Shut UP!" roared Cho, still panting heavily. "You had you fancy airbending running and Toph had her Earth running. We actually RAN!" With that, the three of us re-collapsed to the ground.

"Le-lets wait an hour, okay?" I panted.

"Sounds good," said Aang, who had stood up when I had released him.

We hung out around the camp for fifty-five minutes before we got in another line for the next race.

"Remember, _no bending_," said Sokka sharply.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know, Snoozles," said Toph flapping her hand in his general direction.

"1…2…3!" There we go again. Now, Sokka, Cho and I had the advantage. We'd been running like this our whole lives long.

We split when we came to the lake. Aang and Cho were on my side with Toph and Sokka on the other. I could tell after the first twenty yards around the lake, it was taking a lot longer than going through or across it. It took me about six minutes compared to the two from before to get around the lake. The trip around the lake was uneventful, besides Aang tripping and landing on his face. Sokka and Cho hit the woods before me, then Toph and Aang.

The woods took about the same about of time as the first run through it. I heard slashing a couple minutes in that a guessed came from Sokka and the sharp side of his club. I didn't dare come closer to the noise in fear of getting hit. The sound followed me 'till I reached the other side of the woods. When I burst out in to the sunlight, Sokka was next to me.

Only the two of us were out of the woods at the moment. He eyed me nervously, and then pulled out his boomerang. It was covered in leaves that I guess he pulled off trees in the woods. He carefully took aim as he ran, and fired. It hit me in the leg, the same leg I fell on before. I toppled to the ground in a heap.

"You're going to pay, Sokka!" I shouted after him. I struggled to my feet and began to run again. By the time I did, Sokka had all ready turned around at the shore. I could hear someone coming out of the woods behind me. I looked over me shoulder to see Cho, I guess I was limping because she was running over to me.

"You okay?" she panted as she ran.

"Yah, Sokka just chucked his boomerang at my leg." I sent him a death glare.

"Oh," she said simply as he passed us.

"Let the fastest runner win," I said, trying to be a good sport.

"Yah, Sokka will if you keep at that pace," she said teasingly as the sped in front of me.

Aang and Toph just emerged out of the woods as I turned around to head back in. My leg was really starting to slow me down, but I just kept pushing myself to go faster. I ran smack on to the woods and didn't slow down 'till I reached the lake. I took a right and headed around that way. I was on the same side of the lake as Sokka. Cho was speeding along the other side. When the three of us were half way around the lake, Aang and Toph popped out of the woods. Toph was in front of Aang and smirking. It was pretty clear-cut now, Cho or Sokka, then me, Toph, and Aang. But that doesn't mean I still wasn't going to try to win!

I watched as Sokka and Cho's heads turned towards each other. Their eyes met. All of a sudden they both pulled out a burst of speed. This random speed up shocked me and I almost stopped running. When I realized what I was doing, I sped up myself. I watched from a couple yards away as Sokka and then Cho crossed our makeshift finish line. Shortly after I crossed follower by Toph and Aang after her.

* * *

**(Aang's POV)**

We were silently sitting by the campfire, doing whatever we pleased. Momo was on Toph's lap, happily being petted. Nao was sitting, twirling some fire between her fingers. Katara was absentmindedly stirring tonight's dinner with Waterbending while Sokka was sharpening his boomerang. I took out a small marble and began to play with it using airbending.

"So, some race, huh?" said Toph.

"Yah. Its amazing to see how much bending made a difference," I said. It was _really _amazing how Sokka was the fastest runner of us all when bending wasn't involved. "Good job Sokka."

"I was great, wasn't I?" He was starting to get too full of himself. His strokes with the stone against his boomerang were getting big and sloppy. He was starting to go on about how when he was still in the South Pole he was the fastest and ran six miles, through the snow a day. Suddenly, his boomerang slipped out of his hand and into the fire.

"Not my boomerang!" yelled Sokka like it was the end of the world, his voice cracking slightly. "What are we gonna do? It'll deform if we leave it in to long and it'll crack from the heat to water!" Sokka ran off to try to find an alternative and Katara went to find water. Nao sighed. Before I knew it, she had stuck her hand it the fire and pulled out a perfectly fine boomerang, her hand unharmed.

"Sokka, Katara, get back here," she hollered sounding board. Sokka's mouth dropped when he saw his boomerang unharmed and squealed like a little girl. He ran over and captured her in a platypus-bear hug.

"You…are…the…BEST!" Sokka exclaimed happily.

"You're quite welcome, but can you get off me? I can't breathe," Sokka immediately let go and accepted his boomerang from Nao. He quickly let go, recoiled, and yelped.

"It's burning hot!" he exclaimed as he pointed at it.

"No, duh. It was just in the fire," said Toph.

"But it didn't hurt you, how come?" Sokka asked turning to Nao.

"I'm used to it, being a firebender and all. I've been burned plenty of times."

We all just stared at her. She pretended not to notice and sat down next to Sokka. I noticed her wince slightly as her hand accidentally knocked the log. It was then that I saw the huge, angry burn on her hand. It was entirely pink and raw. I smirked.

I don't know what it is about her that makes me hate her so much. Maybe it was the way she treated Katara? Or how Katara doesn't like her? Why is this girl hiding her pain, anyway? Playing tough in front of us won't do her any good. Maybe, just maybe, was she trying to impress Sokka? My smirk grew in to a full on smile and I had to cover my mouth with my hands to keep from laughing.


End file.
